Grand View is on the road for an early Heart of America Conference showdown on Saturday with a visit to Benedictine of Kansas. Grand View is ranked fourth in the NAIA Poll after a 54-6 season opening win over William Woods but coach Joe Woodley says they will need a much better effort against a Ravens team that is ranked 12th.

Grand View is the favorite in the North Division race. Benedictine is favored in the South Division.

Grand View Vikings logo

Benedictine is off to a 2-0 start.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa standout kickoff returner Jordan Cotton will serve as honorary captain when the Hawkeyes host Troy in their nonconference finale Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 3:05 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised on FS1.

Cotton, a two-year letterwinner, was a member of the program from 2009-13, where he was a part of four bowl teams — 2010 Orange, 2010 Insight, 2011 Insight, 2014 Outback. Iowa won both the Orange and 2010 Insight bowls.

The Mount Pleasant, Iowa, native led the Big Ten and ranked 14th nationally in kickoff returns in 2012 with 19 returns for 536 yards (28.2 average). He was fourth in the league and 26th nationally (29 returns, 730 yards, 25.2 average) during his senior season in 2013.

Cotton had a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown — still the 13th longest in program history — against Penn State in 2012. He had a 96-yard kickoff return to the 4-yard line in the 2014 Outback Bowl against LSU.

His 42.7 kickoff return average on three attempts broke the Outback Bowl record for kickoff return yard average. Cotton also finished his career with 15 receptions for 234 yards and one touchdown.

Cotton is currently in his first season as an assistant football coach at Durant (Iowa) High School.

Cotton will accompany the Iowa captains to midfield for Saturday’s pregame coin toss. He will also be with the Hawkeyes in the locker room before and after the game.

The Exira-EHK Football Team will travel to Audubon to take on Carson Wessel and the Wheelers this Friday. The contest will mark the third of the season for both programs. Exira-EHK is coming off a 30-20 victory over Stanton to pull their record to 1-1, while Audubon is rolling at 2-0 after their blowout win against Colo-Nesco.

The Spartans will have their hands full with the Wheelers’ speedy junior quarterback Carson Wessel and the offense.  Heading into Friday, Wessel leads the Western Iowa Conference in touchdowns (9), rushing yards (374), offensive touchdowns (9), offensive yards (626), yards per completion (21.0), and quarterback rating (217.1).  Wheelers’ senior running back Aaron Olsen is also a big part of the offense. He is coming off a fantastic game last week where he ran for 127 yards and averaged 6.0 yards per carry. Exira-EHK head coach Drew Buckholdt knows his defense will need to keep the Audubon offense behind the sticks.

The Spartan defense is led by senior linebacker Alex Hansen. Hansen leads the team with 16.5 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. Coming into Friday’s game he ranks in the top 10 in the Rolling Valley Conference in total tackles, solo tackles, and tackles for loss.  He is also a contributor on the offensive side of the ball. He has averaged 5.4 yards per carry and 2 touchdowns this season. Hansen also holds the 4th longest run for a touchdown in the conference to date.

Offensively the Spartans’ run game will be a key factor in the ball game. Starting a young quarterback making just his second varsity start, it is likely that coach Buckholdt will rely on his running game which made a big jump from week 1 to week 2. In their week 1 loss to Ar-We-Va the Spartans compiled 149 yards and averaged 3.9 yards per carry. However, last week those numbers improved as Hansen ran 114 yards and junior Bryce Brabham ran for 117 yards. Despite the improvement in the run game Buckholdt is hoping for an even bigger improvement against Audubon.

Running the ball won’t be easy for Exira-EHK as they will have to contend with a Wheelers’ defense led by linebacker #81 Austin Christensen and Cornerback Adam Obrecht. Christensen is tied for fourth in the WIC with 15.5 tackles. Obrecht is not far behind with 13 and both of them share the conference lead with two interceptions.  Buckholdt knows that assignment football will be important.

Catch all the action on KJAN Radio with kickoff at 7pm.

There will be plenty of family ties this weekend when the Northern Iowa volleyball team takes part in a tournament in Louisville, Kentucky. The Panthers will play ninth ranked Creighton on Friday and fourth ranked Louisville on Saturday. UNI coach Bobbi Peterson’s daughter, Payton, is a freshman on the Louisville squad.

UNI is 4-2 and Peterson says this tournament is part of a demanding nonconference schedule.

Peterson says the Panthers are still working to build an identity.

The Panthers close the tournament by playing Rice on Sunday.

Patience has paid off for Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson. After rushing for 463 yards as a freshman and 779 last year Johnson is off to a fast start. He has 306 yards and four touchdowns in Iowa’s 1-1 start. The Hawkeyes are deep at running back and Johnson admits he was contacted about entering the transfer portal, but he feels Iowa is the program for him.

Johnson has gained confidence with his start to the season.

The Hawkeyes host Troy on Saturday.

Drake coach Todd Stepsis has allowed his players a few more days to savor the program’s biggest victory in several years after a 35-32 overtime win at Eastern Washington. It was the Bulldog’s first win over an FCS scholarship program since a 2007 victory at Illinois State.

Drake is off this week. Stepsis says the win erased the disappointment of having the season opener against Quincy cancelled with the Bulldogs leading 10-0 at halftime.

Drake quarterback Luke Bailey passed for 393 yards in that game as the offense showed the ability to strike with the big play.

With no game Stepsis will give his team Friday and Saturday off and says the focus this week in practice has been the young players.

Drake returns to action on the 21st by visiting sixth ranked South Dakota.

Team Results Girls:

1. Atlantic (47 Points)
2. Clarinda (49 Points)
3. Riverside (82 Points)
4. East Atchinson (97 Points)
5. Nebraska City (118 Points)

(Individual Results)

1. Norah Watkins (Rockport)
2. Riley King (Clarinda)

3. Katrina Williams (Atlantic)

5. Hailey Egbert (Shenandoah)

8. Iviana Schechinger (Riverside)

9. Lily Mather (Shenandoah)

11. Hailey White (Atlantic)

14. Elynor Brummer (Atlantic)

Team Results Boys:

1. Riverside (35 Points)
2. Red Oak (52 Points)
3. Shenandoah (90 Points)
4. Clarinda (123 Points)
5. Atlantic (127 Points)

(Individual Results)

1. Kyle Wagoner (Clarinda)
2. Dawson Henderson (Riverside)
3. Brody Henderson (Riverside)
4. Emmanuel Grass (Red Oak)
5. Hayden Heitbrink (Red Oak)
6. Jonathan Avalos (Nebraska City)
7. Owen Fenner (Riverside)
8. Eli Hudnall (Riverside)
9. Osiel Pedersen (Red Oak)
10. Luke Daoust (Shenandoah)

Atlantic Triangular

#5 Lewis Central 3, Atlantic 0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-11)

#5 Lewis Central 3, Creston 0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-18)

Harlan Triangular

Shenandoah 3, Harlan 0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-19)

IKM Manning Triangular

Exira EHK 2, Ar-We-Va 1 (19-25, 25-20, 15-10)

IKM Manning 2, Exira EHK 1 (26-24, 20-25, 15-10)

IKM Manning 2, Ar-We-Va 0 (25-15, 25-18)

Lenox Triangular

Lenox 2, Nodaway Valley 0 (25-16, 25-17)

Lenox 2, Wayne 0 (25-16, 25-14)

Hamburg Triangular

East Mills 3, Griswold 1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21)

East Mills 3, Hamburg 0 (25-4, 25-9, 25-3)

Madrid Triangular

Audubon 2, Madrid 0 (21-5, 21-13)

Audubon 2, Glidden Ralston 1 (23-21, 19-21, 15-8)

Boys Scores:

1. Tri-Center
2. St. Albert
3. Woodbine
4. Missouri Valley
5. Boyer Valley
6. Sidney
7. Exira-EHK
8. East Mills

Girls Scores:

1. Treynor
2. Logan Magnolia
3. Boyer Valley
4. St. Albert
5. Tri-Center
6. Exira-EHK

Girls Scores:

1. Harlan (72 Points)
2. Lewis Central (77 Points)
3. Sioux Center High School (77 Points)
4. MOC-Flyod Valley (106 Points)
5. Unity Christian High School (114 Points)

(Harlan)

1)Lindsey Sonderman, 19:23.90

11) Ashlyn Rau, 21:31.35

20) Brylee Schechinger, 22:29.34

21) Allie Anderson, 23:00.68

22) Aspen Bieker, 23:02.22

48) Ava Freund, 25:08.87

63) Lily Schechinger, 26:17.23

(Lewis Central)

2) Ava Bussey 20:25.62

4) Delayna Reese 20:52.85

9) Madelyn Hoss 21:11.66

30) Mallory Bach 23:33.28

34) Kate Strohmeier 23:51.63

35) Tyler Tingley 23:52.64

Boys Scores:

1. Lewis Central (38 Points)
2. Sioux City North (85 Points)
3. Sioux Center High School (95 Points)
4. MOC-Floyd Valley (106 Points)
5. Unity Christian High School (143 Points)

11. Harlan (323 Points)

(Harlan)

32) Jeffrey Gross, 19:20.66

65) Elijah Cox, 20:59.06

74) Nathan Sandquist, 21:49.36

76) Logan Breyfogle, 22:11.32

81) Kobe Kimmen, 22:38.35

90) Jeb Sonderman, 23:49.98

(Lewis Central)

2) Evan Lillie 17:03.40

3) Marshall Arkfeld 17:04.39

4) Kevin Coots 17:32.61

8) Jackson Cox 18:10.69

21) Richard Selken 18:43.44

58) Beran Stroup 20:41.31